Tony Schiavone Remembers Brief Tenure In WWE

Tony Schiavone's body of work in the pro wrestling industry, especially between 1983 and 2001, was quite diverse, with the veteran working the mic in Jim Crockett Promotions, the WWE, and WCW. While his tenure in WCW would be where he'd establish himself, becoming the lead voice for "Monday Nitro," Schiavone often looks back at his time in WWE, which was only a year long.

During an episode of his "What Happened When?" podcast, Schiavone recalled hearing about a report from Dave Meltzer that he was unhappy about Jim Ross being the lead announcer during their time in JCP, and that this was why he left for WWE. "This is not the case. I was happy and living in Charlotte. We had bought a house in Charlotte," he clarified, recalling a call he got from Vince McMahon. "He asked me what I was making. I told him, he offered me 40 thousand dollars more a year, so I said, 'Okay, I'll take it.'"

Schiavone also revealed that he was working without a contract in JCP and that he told them about the offer from WWE, but instead of giving him a counteroffer, they simply let him go. "I called Vince back, and I said, 'I have been fired by WCW or Jim Heard.' He said, 'Well, then you're on the payroll today!'" he recalled. "I went up there and had a great year of my career. There wasn't anything that made me go up there with the exception of knowing that Heard was a f**king idiot, and it all worked out for me...for a year...And then? My God..."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "What Happened When?" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.